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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revelation, February 12, 2001
By A Customer
This is a copy of my review for this speaker's twin - the 18T with a maple finish:Let me begin by admitting that I cannot be considered an expert in the field of evaluating speakers. However, I have been a pretty avid stereophile for almost 20 years, and am something of an equipment snob. My tastes, however, run to what some of my friends would disdainfully call "mid-fi." In lieu of esoterica such as 20 watt monoblock tube amps, I believe in solid, no-frills equipment from companies such as NAD, Denon, Harman Kardon, and Nakamichi: equipment that gives solid performance at a fair price, eschewing silly frills for quality construction, design, and materials. When it comes to speakers, I believe the decision as to what to buy is very subjective, and a function of some basic cost trade-offs. That said, I have always been a firm believer in a well-designed two-way speaker - all of my main speakers, from EPI T/E 100s, to the Energy ESM-2s I just replaced, have been two-way speakers with 8-inch woofers. The KLH Model 18T is, I believe, the best of the bunch. I just recently had to replace my faithful Energy speakers when the foam woofer surrounds completely disintegrated after 15 years. I have had my heart set on purchasing a pair of Magnepans (perhaps the MMGs) for some time, but with two small and very curious children, this seemed quite foolish. I don't think those nice flat panels would last a day without having multiple holes punched in them. Another concern: it's Christmastime and I have two small children, so spending what I once thought of as a reasonable sum to satisfy my stereo-lust seemed rather Scroogelike. So I needed something solid, inexpensive, and relatively impervious to children. And they had to sound wonderful. Unable to do a decent job of speaker auditioning, I took the plunge and did a little web-research, settling on a pair of KLH Model 18Ts. And I was well rewarded. Now, KLH is a brand that I have never considered before. If you're going to go esoteric, speakers are the place to start. And KLHs are about as plainjane and lowbrow as they come. But as I read in various testimonials, these top of the line KLHs should not be lumped with their more humble siblings. The materials and construction appear generally to be of high quality, from the gold plated binding posts to the yellow woven fiberglass woofers. And added bonus, they look good, at least to me. They are about 40" tall, just about right for listening in your favorite easy chair. The finish on my speakers is a nice high gloss maple (they are also available in black and various other finishes), although the gloss looks perhaps a bit too plasticky. You can see the gold colored polycarbonate tweeters and yellow woofers through the metal screens, for a nice high-tech touch. The plastic grill casing, however, seem a little flimsy, and the veneer is a little warped along some of the edges. I would not notice this, I think, in a less glossy finish, and it is a relatively minor quibble. Now, let's get to the meat. How do they sound? They sound good. Very good, indeed. And they seem much more efficient than the sensitivity rating of 86 dB @ 1W - 1M would suggest. My Energy speakers were rated the same and required a lot more of my Harmon Kardon amplifier. The soundstage and accuracy of these speakers is every bit as good as my old speakers, which cost $100 more in 1985 dollars. And they seem to have what I consider great "presence." My Steely Dan CD, which I consider a great test of a speaker's abilities, sounded fresh and alive. I could hear things on "Deacon Blues" I never noticed bedfore. And the bass is tight and deep. The drums on the CD had that quality of "attack" and immediacy that my other speakers could never match: It seems as if the drums are live, as opposed to a muffled recording. These KLHs certainly add back the punch to percussion that I had not even know I was missing. I don't believe in subwoofers in general, although I accept their justification with satellite speakers. A subwoofer is certainly not needed with these speakers. Their (unqualified) rating of 30-20,000Hz seems reasonable. They also did a fine job with (modern) classical music. The low, rumbling menace of Gorecki's Third Symphony was given new life by these speakers. They did just as well with Dawn Upshaw's haunting voice. It is really hard to do a true evaluation of a speaker without being able to compare it head to head with another model. I would not be surprised if once could find similarly priced speakers that were more accurate, or more smooth. I would not be surprised if one could find better, tighter bass, if that's what you are into (personally, I prefer a good tight mini-speaker with no bass to a sloppy one with a 15" woofer). Pick any particular aspect of a speaker that you might be interested in and no doubt you could find something in the same price range that would beat this speaker. But I have not auditioned any speaker that for the money performs so well in so many ways as these KLHs. They are incredibly versatile, and at their price, you cannot really go wrong. If price were no object, I would give these 4 stars over all. But given all that these speakers deliver for their price they deserve 5 stars. If you're desperate like I was, order them online, and if you don't think they are worth every penny, send them back and eat the postage.
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